God has blessed us with many talents, gifts, and abilities, and the deep desires of our heart. And naturally we want to hold on to the very things he gave us. But our gift becomes our sin when we hold on too tightly, forgetting the one who gave it to us in the first place. Like Gollum, we hold on to our “precious” despite the now malignant influence it brings to our soul. We must learn to be like Abraham who was willing to surrender even what he held most dear.
On the one hand, we have the responsibility to steward the gifts and desires God has given us. For example, if he’s given us the ability to be financially successful, then we should do so to his glory. And we shouldn’t feel guilty about our ability to earn more than enough wealth.
But we’ve erred whenever we’ve made an idol of our financial security or ability to earn money. Rather than being grateful for the gifts God has given us, we live as if our daily bread depends on us more than God. As such, our decisions are then fueled by the fear of losing control instead of a confident faith in trusting God’s provision.
With Abraham, we must be willing to surrender our gift back to God, who it came from anyway. And in faith we trust we’re able to receive it back again, but on God’s terms and not ours.
We move farther and farther away from God when we desperately hold on to our precious. And at times he will thwart our efforts and block our gifting to remind us he alone is our true source of life.
In the end, be grateful for and wisely use every gift God has blessed you with. And remember there comes a time to surrender these all back to him. We risk making an idol of our gifts otherwise.
